Ofqual-regulated Level 3 Diploma
Get students out making a positive impact. Then make it count academically.
Five quick steps to see exactly how the diploma fits your school's week, from the first session to the certificate.
Step 1 of 5
Your school
Happy with your plan?
15 students · Grade 9 · International Service Diploma · weekly sessions from Term 2
A proposal for senior leadership
Prepared for the senior leadership team at [School]
Turn your students' service into an Ofqual-regulated Level 3 Diploma.
Your programme
- $0Cost to the school
- Funded by optional student enrolment
- 1 hrA week, one teacher
- CGCS writes every lesson and marks it all
- Level 3Recognised worldwide
- US 9 credits* · Europe EQF 4 · UK 16 UCAS (an AS at B)
- 1 weekTo launch
- Free 3-hour CPD for every lead teacher
*Indicative. Each university decides how it recognises credit.
Your year at a glance
- 1
In class
Dates to be set
Modules 1–3, weekly - 2
In the field
- Your service projectDates to be set
- 3
Back at school
Reflect · Evidence · Progress - 4
Diploma awarded
Dates to be set
Certificates through NOCN
What students earn
Level 3 Diploma in Global Citizenship, Service and Leadership
International Service Diploma
Fits alongside: IB CAS · Duke of Edinburgh · Cambridge Global Perspectives · Your existing service trips
The decision we're asking for
- 1A weekly slot: one hour, any time the school chooses
- 2A lead teacher, with free 3-hour CPD from CGCS. Or a CGCS facilitator, if you'd rather.
- 3Permission to send the letter to families (page 6).
Prepared for your school, 4 November 2026Questions: Michael Lee, CGCS · hello@globalcitizenshipstudies.com
For whoever signs off
What it means for each of you
Your programme
Head of school or principal
Does it cost us, add risk, or fit who we are?
- ✓USD 0 to the school
- ✓Ofqual-regulated Level 3
- ✓Your safeguarding policy applies
- ✓Ready in 1 week
Head of sixth form or secondary
Will it add to my teachers' load, or clash with the timetable?
- ✓1 teacher, 1 hour a week
- ✓Any slot in the week
- ✓CGCS marks everything
- ✓Free 3-hour CPD
University counsellor
Will it help my students' applications, wherever they apply?
- ✓A qualification, not an activity
- ✓Recognised worldwide
- ✓US 9 credits* · EQF 4 · 16 UCAS
- ✓Marked work for essays
CAS, DofE or service lead
Will it make my programme easier or harder?
- ✓Wraps around CAS and DofE
- ✓13 weeks, ready to teach
- ✓Service becomes marked work
- ✓Trips tendered to 46 providers
Parent or carer
What does my child get, and what does it cost?
- ✓A Level 3 qualification
- ✓Recognised worldwide
- ✓USD 540 on the school bill
- ✓A cause they chose
Future employer
What does this diploma tell me about a young person?
- ✓Planned a real project
- ✓Ran it with a partner
- ✓Reflected in marked work
- ✓Ofqual-regulated Level 3
An example
Billy and Bobby: same grades, same trip
Two students apply to the same university. Same grades. Same service trip.
Service only
Billy
- Went on the service trip
- Lists “volunteering” as an activity
- Writes “it changed my perspective”
- Nothing marked to show for it
Service + diploma
Bobby
- Went on the same trip, with a project plan she wrote first
- Lists a Level 3 qualification on university applications worldwide
- Can say what she did, what changed and what she'd do differently
- Has marked work to back up every word
*Indicative.
Your year
Your programme
15 students · Grade 9 · International Service Diploma · weekly sessions from Term 2
Term 2
Club starts
One teacher, one hour a week
Dates to set
International Service Diploma
At least 3 full days of service
Dates to set
Graduation
Ofqual-regulated UK diploma
International Service Diploma
- Before the tripModules 1–3Mindset, Motivation, Making It Happen, finished before the trip
- On the tripThe tripModule 4, Momentum: 2+ full days of supervised service
- After the tripModule 5Meaning, back home
Your lessons
Your programme
The 5 Ms at a glance. Every dated session is on the wall planner.
Who does what
Your school brings
- A teacher to host the weekly session
- One hour a week, in a slot you choose
- A room and a screen
- Students aged 14+
CGCS brings
- ✓The full course, lesson plans and resources
- ✓Student logins to our online learning platform
- ✓A free 3-hour CPD session in Global Citizenship and programme delivery for your teacher, with check-ins after
- ✓Support to plan a real local service project
- ✓All marking, moderation and assessment
- ✓Certificates issued through NOCN, the awarding body
- ✓A launch kit for students and parents
- ✓An invitation to our awards ceremony
Module 1
Mindset
Inner Exploration
- Why service, why me
- Values, identity and position
- Strengths, gaps and goals
Module 2
Motivation
Global Readiness
- Culture, context and country
- Ethics and safeguarding
- Practical readiness
Module 3
Making It Happen
Impact & Engagement
- The SDGs as a working tool
- Stakeholder analysis
- Designing for impact
- Writing the plan
- Submission and feedback
Module 4
Momentum
Fieldwork
- Fieldwork skills
- Launch and the field brief
Module 5
Meaning
Capstone
- Reflect (optional)
- Evidence (optional)
- Progress (optional)
Capstone submitted
Making it happen
Your programme
Cost
No cost to the school
Students who want the certificate opt in for USD 540
Safety and safeguarding
- ✓Every project partner is checked by CGCS before students take part.
- ✓Your school's own safeguarding policy covers the club and the local project.
- ✓Trips run with established operators who host school groups, with their own risk assessments, insurance and staff ratios.
- ✓No laptops on the trip: coursework happens before and after, online.
46
providers
We find the best trip for you
46 providers. We tender your trip for you.
Your trip, your extra days and your dates become one brief. We take it to about five providers and come back with the best and most reliable option.
- 46 providers we already work with
- About five quotes for your trip
- Price and reliability compared for you
A real qualification
- Ofqual regulated
- Awarded through NOCN
- 16 UCAS points = an AS-Level at B
Built for university applications worldwide.
- United States9 semester credits*
- Through our US School of Record, Hartwick College. Plus sustained, evidenced service for the application.
- EuropeEQF Level 4
- UK Level 3 sits at Level 4 on the European framework. About 20–21 ECTS credits*.
- CanadaEvidence for profiles
- Where a university asks for a personal profile or supplementary essays, students have marked work to draw on.
- Australia and New ZealandService, on record
- Where entry schemes look at service, leadership or co-curricular work, it's a regulated qualification, not just hours.
- AsiaBeyond the grades
- Where admissions look past scores, students show a qualification and marked work that others with the same grades don't have.
- United Kingdom16 UCAS points
- The same as an AS-Level at grade B (half an A-Level), on the UCAS application.
*Indicative. Each university decides how it recognises qualifications and credit.
Your next step
- What we want to change
- Where it fits
- Who runs it
- Who approves and pays
- When we decide
Next step
One action, one owner, one date.
Michael Lee
hello@globalcitizenshipstudies.com
WhatsApp +44 7832 562426
For families
A letter for families
Dear parents and carers,
Our school is starting Your programme: a weekly club where students learn about a cause they care about, then put it into action on a real service project, including a service trip. Students who complete it earn an Ofqual-regulated UK diploma.
What your child will do
- ✓A weekly session at school, Fridays at 1:00 pm
- ✓Coursework on the CGCS online learning platform, marked by CGCS
- ✓A service trip abroad
- ✓Three optional reflection sessions afterwards, to finish their work
What they earn
- ✓International Service Diploma (Level 3 Diploma in Global Citizenship, Service and Leadership)
- ✓An Ofqual-regulated UK Level 3 qualification, to list on university applications anywhere
- ✓In the UK, 16 UCAS Tariff points (the same as an AS-Level at grade B). In the US and Europe, indicative credit
- ✓Marked evidence of real service, for applications, essays and interviews
What it costs
USD 540 per student, added to your usual school bill. It covers the full course, the online learning platform, all marking, and the NOCN certificate and transcript (PDF).
[Trip cost and dates to be confirmed by the school]
Keeping students safe
The school's own safeguarding policy applies to every session and project, as for any club.
For trips, CGCS works with 46 providers and compares their programmes for us, to find the best and most reliable one.
Questions?
Speak to [name of staff lead] at school, or contact CGCS:
hello@globalcitizenshipstudies.com
With best wishes,
[Name]
[Role], [School]